Sunset Kiss

"Right, this is Asif, Algo, Bryan, and Ash. My new friends." Lobian pointed at each one of the brothers while introducing their names.

"Boy, you mean your only friends?" The old man smiled.

Lobian smiled and said, "Not anymore. Even the children of the Battle King are my friends now."

"Hohhh..." The old man stroked his beard.

*Cough*

"Congratulations, kids! You guys have done it." Alexander smiled at the four brothers.

"Haha, it was easy for me." Ash said with a smug smile.

"He's talking out of his ass." Bryan spoke.

"Shut up, number four." Ash cheerily said.

"Fuck off!" Bryan flipped him off.

"Who is he, Mr. Director?" Algo asked Alexander while pointing at Lobian's master.

"I'll answer that for you, Alex." Lobian's master suddenly interrupted.

The four brothers looked on with curiousity and had their ears perked up.

The old man smiled at them and said, "My name is Xerath, you can refer to me as however you like. You can consider me as the sage of the Aeron Empire and Lobian's master."

""Ooo..."" Ash and Bryan thought what he said sounded cool.

"Excuse me, Mister Xerath." Algo raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"What is a sage?" Algo asked with the other three curious about the answer as well.

"Haha! It's too early for you kids to learn about that but what I can tell you is that I am stronger than the Battle King." Master Xerath let out a loose smile.

"Stronger than the Battle King...?"

"What the fuck!"

"Incredible!"

"Amazing..."

The four brothers had a different impression of him now after hearing that he is stronger than the Battle King who was said to be the strongest in the Milky Way galaxy.

"Lobian, you lucky fuck. You actually have Mister Xerath as your master?!" Ash asked with wide eyes.

"Aha, even I don't know why he chose me." Lobian rubbed the back of his head with a chuckle.

"Forget about that. I heard there were five of you brothers but why can I see only four of you here?" Master Xerath observed.

"Oh about Ray? He was dragged away by Kaya." Bryan answered.

"Kaya?" Master Xerath lifted up his eyebrow.

"Kaya Aeron, the daughter of the Battle King." Lobian specified.

"Ah that youngling, I remember now." Master Xerath stroked his long beard.

"Yeah, they just recently became a couple although I don't know if the Battle King knows or not." Lobian said.

"He knows." Master Xerath smiled meaningfully.

Meanwhile Ray and Kaya were seen at the outskirts of the city, sitting under a purple tree on top of a small hill. They sat close to each other and watched the sunset as it casted long shadows on the ground and produced a warm orange tinge to the sky. A field of flowers gently blanketed the outskirts painting a blossoming scene.

"You brought me here for this?" Ray was amazed.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Kaya softly said.

"It sure is." Ray nodded. "It reminds me of home."

"Home?" Kaya asked.

"Yeah, home. Me and my brothers are orphans so we lived at an orphanage in a small town near the mountains and rivers. Every day we would wake up early and see the beautiful sunrise. It was magical and mostly peaceful." Ray snickered while looking at the sunset.

"That sounds wonderful." Kaya muttered.

"Haha, you should come visit my planet one day. I'm sure it will shock you." Ray chuckled.

"I'm counting on it." Kaya smiled.

Shifting her attention from the sunset, she turned to look at Ray from the side. She saw his hazel eyes glimmering with some sort of radiance and his curly hair dangling down. Ray turned his head and saw Kaya intently staring at his face.

"You see something you like?" Ray teased.

"Yes, I do." Kaya bluntly answered.

*Cough*

"Well, you're more straight forward than I thought." Ray said.

"Is that a bad thing?" Kaya asked.

"Hell no. I like you and the way you are." Ray simply said.

Kaya felt her heartbeat quicken and said, "I could say the same to you."

Kaya raised her right hand and grabbed hold of Ray's face which startled him. Their eyes met and their heartbeats build up. They both slowly leaned closer to each other, ever so careful. With their attention fully focused on each other, Ray lay his mouth on her lips and they shared a pure moment of desire. Ray could feel the scales on her tail slowly expanding outwards and then retracting back. They kissed until the orange hue on their faces faded away.

Ray leaned back, separating his lips away from hers and they both needed a moment to take it all in. Kaya touched her lower lip with sheer wonderment and Ray scratched his cheek with butterflies in his stomach.

"That was amazing…" Ray spoke up.

"It was…" Kaya nodded then she shook her head and said, "I'm sorry for startling you with that."

"Are you kidding me? Did you not see me actively go ahead with it?" Ray looked at her like she was stupid.

"Hey, this is new to me, okay?" Kaya pouted.

"Haha, it is for me too." Ray agreed with her. "I never expected all of this to happen to be honest."

"Oh, why not?" Kaya intriguingly asked.

Ray awkwardly rubbed his hands and said, "Well, I'm a shy person so I'm not exactly interactive with people. Hell, it took a few months for me to at least get comfortable with my brothers. But somehow you manage to take away my shyness which is honestly incredible."

"Isn't that a good thing? It just means we're meant for each other." Kaya finished before realizing what she said.

"…or something." Kaya half-heartedly added on.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ray laughed out loud.

"Stop laughing!" Kaya grumbled with a rosy face.

Suddenly, Ray stopped laughing and immediately stood up and looked behind them. Kaya was taken aback from the sudden shift and turned back as well. They both saw an imposing middle-aged man standing with his hands behind his back.

Ray noticed the most eye-catching part on the man, the crown on his head. Immediately his mind was rumbled with chaos.

"D-Dad?" Kaya called out in astonishment which confirmed Ray's suspicion.

"That's your dad? The Battle King?!" Ray whispered in shock.

"Shhh!!" Kaya shushed him.

Kayill Aeron stared at them both with a scrutinizing eye and said, "It looks like you both were busy with something."

"No, we weren't doing anything!" Kaya hurriedly responded.

"You weren't doing anything but somehow you missed my signal?" Kayill lightly smiled.

Kaya widened her eyes and pulled out her pendant from beneath her shirt and saw it flashing with urgency.

"I'm so-"

"Pardon my interruption, Mr. King." Ray interrupted Kaya and stepped in. The Battle King didn't say anything and just stared at Ray, making him extremely uncomfortable.

*Cough*

Ray took a deep breath and said with a firm tone, "My name is Ray Angelo and I'm from the Planet Earth. Despite the unsurmountable distance between my planet and Planet Aeria, your daughter and I experienced a fateful connection on the first day. Succeeding a few more days, it was pretty obvious that we both liked each other and eventually I asked her to be in a relationship with me. I know it sounds pretty-"

"Enough!" A sturdy voice interrupted Ray. Ray was instantly nervous and held Kaya's hand which was reciprocated in kind.

"Hahahahaha!"

""Huh?!"" Both Kaya and Ray were dumbfounded.

"You think I did not know about you two? You're my precious daughter. I have to keep tabs on you to see if you would do something disastrous or stupid. I already knew about you two from the first day." Kayill smiled and revealed his awareness.

"Wait, you knew about us the entire time?!" Kaya was exasperated.

"Yes, I did." Kayill nodded.

"So, what now?" Kaya nervously asked.

"I approve." Kayill simply said.

Ray was dumbfounded and expected to do some kind of trial to prove his worth or something. He didn't expect his girlfriend's father, the King to approve of their relationship.

"This is not some kind of trick, is it?" Kaya narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What do you take me for eh, brat?" Kayill clicked his tongue.

"YAY!" Kaya was beyond happy and hugged Ray as hard as she could. Ray was taken aback and received it. Settling her down from the hug, Ray turned his attention at the King who was smiling at him.

He took a respectful bow towards the King and said, "Thank you, Mr. King. You can trust your daughter with me, she will be in safe hands."

Kayill waved his hands and said, "Don't worry, Ray. I've seen your determination and willpower. But I will be waiting to see your performance in the final round tomorrow."

Ray smiled and excitedly said, "You will surely be surprised, Mr. King."

Kayill let out a small grin and then told Kaya, "Come with me Kaya. Khai is already waiting for us."

"It looks like I have to go." Kaya gloomily said.

"Haha! Don't worry, Kaya. We have plenty of time in the future. Anyways, it must be something important." Ray chuckled.

Kaya nodded and walked next to her father. Kaya waved him good bye and slowly they were enveloped in a bright light before they vanished altogether.

"Well, I did not fucking expect that. Thank fuck he approves of me." Ray sighed in relief.

-In a luxurious hall-

*Swoosh*

Kayill and Kaya appeared in the hall. They saw Khai cultivating on the floor and assumed he was bored.

"Khai, we're here." Kayill's voice echoed through the hall.

Khai opened his eyes, saw his father and his sister and teasingly smiled, "Kaya, how busy were you huh?"

Kaya's face turned red and yelled, "SHUT UP!"

Kayill shook his head and said, "Alright, settle down. I have a few questions for you two."

Khai stood up and came right next to Kaya where they were confused as to what their father wanted to know from them.

"What do you think about the five brothers?" Kayill slowly asked.

Kaya and Khai were confused to why their father would ask a question like that.

Khai asked, "Why do you ask that, father?"

"Answer me first."

Khai thought for a few seconds and said, "I think they're wonderful and sort of mysterious. They're unimaginably talented and strong. Their beliefs and morals all steer towards one side being respectable. But the best thing about them is their brotherly bond. I don't think anyone in the entire universe can break that bond."

Kayill nodded, "What about you, Kaya?"

"Whatever Khai said and adding to that, they're goofy." Kaya answered.

"Goofy?" Kayill perked his eyebrow.

"Yeah, they like being ridiculous." Kaya shrugged.

"Interesting…" Kayill muttered.

"But why do you want to know, dad?" Kaya asked.

"I was thinking of making them honorary citizens of the Aeron Empire." Kayill said surprising Kaya and Khai.

"That sounds like a good idea." Kaya instantly agreed with her dad.

"They're special and it's best to give them the treatment they deserve." Khai nodded.

"But I'll wait and decide until the tournament is over. Besides, the other star fields are on the move." Kayill casually said.

-Somewhere far away in the Carrlax star field-

A huge middle-aged looking white skinned creature with four antenna-like protrusions on its head was walking towards a door. The creature opened it and saw five more similar young creatures.

The middle-aged creature opened its mouth and two sharp lower canines were seen jutting out.

"It's time to spread our glory to the other star fields and bring honour to our Carrlax Empire."

The five young Carrlaxians nodded with intense vigor and ferocity.

One of the five ruthlessly said, "They'll be nothing but fodder for us!"

-Somewhere in the Adara star field-

*Flutter Flutter*

An orange skinned adult Adaran landed on a circle formation imprinted on the ground. The formation was filled with complex symbols. The Adaran was soon joined by three other Adarans of various colours.

Swinging their hand weirdly, one of them spoke, "It is time for the prophecy to begin its machinations."

"We must hurry and identify the keys."

The formation lit up and the four Adarans vanished from where they stood.